JOURNAL 
OF THE 
ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. 
——)— 
Part I.—HISTORY, LITERATURE, &e, 
No. IV.—1879. 
Pali Derivations in Burmese.—By H. L. Sr. Bare, B. c. 8. 
The Burmese have borrowed their alphabet, religion, literature and a 
large portion of their language from the neighbouring continent. The 
alphabet was no doubt introduced at a very early period. It has never 
been analysed with any care, but its square variety approximates more 
closely to the Asoka and fifth century (B. C.) inscriptions than any later 
Indian modifications. It was adopted en bloc, though the Burmese have 
never themselves found any use for 12 out of the 34 consonants and have 
altered several of the sounds, notably the 2nd varga from “ch” and “j” 
to “s” and “ z”, the vowel “ai” into é (pronounced more or less like the 
“e” in there) and “o” into “6” (like the “aw” in “law”). To express 
‘the sound of an “0” and “ai,” they invented a new compound, which I 
propose calling “ ui’? from the symbols it is apparently composed of. The 
‘remaining characters, for my present purpose, will be more conveniently 
designated by their Indian equivalents.* 
The earliest date mentioned in the national chronicle is the foundation 
of the Sarekhettard kingdom (B. C. 482). Previous to this, lengthy lines 
of kings with Indian names are mentioned at Sangassa and Paiicala, as the 
old capitals of Tagoung and old Pugdn were denominated. ‘There is no 
adequate reason, so far as I can see, for rejecting the Indian origin of these 
early kingdoms. The country was in much the same state as Karen- 
bi or the Kachyen hills are at present; inhabited by a number of petty 
; * A paper on Burmese Transliteration was contributed by the writer tothe R, A, 
Society and published in their Journal for April 1878. 
SE 
